John Schneider explains hilarious mound conversation with Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Scherzer
Max Scherzer was a man on a mission for the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the ALCS on Thursday night.
Making his first start of the postseason, the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer gave a vintage performance, giving up just two runs through 5.2 innings in what was an 87-pitch outing. The great showing helped the Blue Jays defeat the Seattle Mariners 8-2 to even up the ALCS at two wins apiece.
To no surprise, Mad Max was fully on display in this one, as he was every bit as intense as fans expected. No moment summed that up better than a mound visit from John Schneider in the fifth inning, when the Blue Jays skipper looked like he was going to go to the bullpen.
But Scherzer wasn’t having it, as television cameras caught him yelling at Schneider, urging the Blue Jays manager to keep him in the game. He went on to strike out Randy Arozarena immediately afterward to get out of the inning.
Max Scherzer was NOT coming out of this game š³
Facing his next hitter, he picks up the strikeout to end the 5th! pic.twitter.com/EbVoGMOno8
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2025
“Been waiting for that all year, for Max to yell at me on the mound,” Schneider said post-game. “I think at that point, there’s numbers, there’s projection, there’s strategy, and there’s people.
“I was trusting people.”
Schneider explained just how intense the brief conversation was.
“It was awesome,” Schneider said. “I thought he was going to kill me. It was great. He locked eyes with me, both colours, as I walked out. It’s not fake, that’s the thing. It’s not fake.
“He has this ‘Mad Max’ persona, but he backed it up tonight.”
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Scherzer went on to describe the highly-discussed moment as well, saying it was nothing more than believing he was capable of going deeper into the game.
“I was in my sequence of how I wanted to pitch Randy, thinking through the situation. All of a sudden, I see Schneids coming out, and it kind of caught me off guard,” Scherzer explained.
“That’s one of those moments where I knew I wanted the ball. I knew the situation of the game. I wanted the ball, and I basically told him that in a little bit of a different language.”
Though the 2025 season was a rocky one for Scherzer, Thursday’s outing made the Blue Jays’ decision to sign the veteran pitcher in the offseason well worth it. Thanks in large part to his phenomenal effort, the Jays will now head into Friday’s outing with a chance to take a 3-2 series lead over the Mariners before heading back to Toronto.
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